The Whaleback Ships by Bill Hamelink Suspect That Most, If Not All, of the EMYC Members Are Acquainted With, Or Have Visited the S.S

JUNE 2012 VOLUME 21, NUMBER 6 The Whaleback Ships By Bill Hamelink suspect that most, if not all, of the EMYC members are acquainted with, or have visited the S.S. Meteor Iwhaleback exhibit just east of Superior, Wisconsin. Thus this description may be a little old to you. Hang on, I'll try to refresh your memory and add a little new information you may not be aware of. The whaleback ship was the invention of Captain Alexander McDougall, a Scotsman with a very fertile mind and a maritime history. He wanted a steamship with a hull that would mini- mize the effect of the wind and the battering of the waves. He achieved this with a shape that rode deep in the water, looking like a whaleback, and had rounded gunwales that would let the seas ride smoothly over the deck. He established a shipyard near the current museum and in 1888 he produced the first The S.S. Meteor, a walk-in exhibit on display in Superior, Wisconsin (cont. on page 4)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

-Open Boating every Tuesday and Thursday 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. and every Sunday 4:30 - 9:00 p.m.- June 10, Sunday ...... 9:00 a.m.-:4:00 p.m...... Parade Of Boats June 19, Tuesday ...... 7:00 p.m- 9:00 p.m...... Membership Meeting June 28, Thursday ...... 4:00 p.m- 8:00 p.m...... The Draw at Ramsey, Minn

SAIL & SCALE — JUNE 2012 1 Farm, will work on that soon. COMMODORE’S A reminder for the Dry dock party. Take lots of pictures CORNER of your activities, especially those that are not at the Centennial Lakes area so that Dale will have a good repre- sentative group to make his yearly show for us. -Wayne By Wayne Snyder

his year's Tthree pond At the May 15 Meeting race was won by Larry Wheeler, Discussion related to the 2012 Parade of Boats planning the wind gods was the main topic at the meeting Dick Walker reviewed the were very evi- schedule for that day. -Todd Moen dent in his sails as he sprinted far ahead of us all. However several others closed on him but to no avail as he succeeded in winning. Great job to all. As for yours truly, well he hadn't recharged his transmitter batteries so they suc- cumbed to the eventual failure in the North pond, ho hum better luck next year! Thanks to Fred Ferris for running it again. June is the Parade of Boats month. Let's all bring our boats so we have lots to show and also get ready to skipper them so there is a show on the water at most if not all of the Karl Bottemiller answering questions about his boat time. Also the Ramsey visit is this month which is scheduled for the 28th. On Tuesday the 29th of May we had a great time with the young ladies from the Edina Patch newsletter, a daily "what's happening in Edina" e-mail. Thanks to all who showed up as we had a good repre- sentative group from the club to talk to the young ladies and even let them run the boats. It was windy and cloudy but we made a good impres- sion for the newsletter. The Parade of Boats is advertised on the Edina Magazine web site this year. I have yet to get a firm date for Rick's Hobby

2SAIL & SCALE — JUNE 2012 NAUTICAL KNOW-IT-ALL - MILITARY BOATS By Warren Peaze

Test your military boat knowledge with this quiz: 1. If a ship has a hull number beginning with DDG, what type of ship is it? A. Guided Missile Destroyer B. Frigate C. Minesweeper D. Battleship

2. Which of the following distinctions does the current USS Enterprise (CVN-65) hold? A. Fastest ship in the US Fleet B. First to handle jet aircraft C. World's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier D. Only aircraft carrier to survive Pearl Harbor attack

3. What was the first US nuclear submarine? A. USS Red October B. USS Rubicon C. USS Seawolf D. USS Nautilus

4. Which US President depicted on Mt. Rushmore does NOT have a US aircraft carrier named after him? A. George Washington B. Thomas Jefferson C. Theodore Roosevelt D. Abraham Lincoln

5. What is the oldest commissioned US Navy ship? A. USS Constellation B. USS Constitution C. USS Enterprise D. USS Intrepid

6.. Who was the 'father' of nuclear propulsion in the US Navy? A. Admiral Rickover B. Admiral Calavicci C. Admiral Hopper D. Admiral Halsey

7. What is the crew size (with embarked airwing) of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier? A. 555 B.10360 C. 5680 D.1024

8. How long did the Nimitz go between its launch and its first refueling? A. 26 years B. 2 years C. 5 years D. 13 years

9. The Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force is run by this organization. A.Military Sealift Command B. US Naval Reserve C. US Coast Guard D. Boy Scouts

10. Which of the following is NOT a type of US Navy ship? A. Cruiser B. Missile Barge C. Amphibious Assault Ship D. Dock Landing Ship

Answers to the May Know-It-All Questions about movie boats 1. Boat in "Hellcats of the Navy“ was the USS Starfish 2. Sub in “Down Periscope “ was the USS Stingray 3. Sub in “Run Silent, Run Deep” was the USS Nerka 4. Boat in “White Squall” was the Albatross 5. Boat in “To Have and Have Not” was the Queen Conch 6. Boat in "Key Largo" was the Santana 7. Boat in “The Caine Mutiny" was the USS Caine 8. Boat in "Showboat" was the Cotton Blossom 9. Boat in "King Kong" was the SS Venture 10. Boat in "Pirates of the Carribean" was Black Pearl 11. German Boat in “African Queen” was the Queen Louisa 12. boat in “Jaws“ was the Orca 13. Sub in “Gray Lady Down" was the USS Neptune 14. Ship in “Ghost Ship” was the Antonia Graza 15. Russell Crowe’s boat in “Master and Commander was the Surprise

SAIL & SCALE — JUNE 2012 3 The Whaleback Ships (cont.)

ship, a barge I believe. Total production of the whalebacks (1888 - 1898) was 44 ships, 23 barges and 21 steamships: produced in Superior, Duluth, Brooklyn, NY, and Everett, WA. The museum ship, the S.S. Meteor, was built in 1896 in Superior as the Frank Rockefeller, and was an iron ore carrier. It was the 36th whaleback built. She is 380' long, 45' beam and 26' depth. She had a few mishaps, a number of ownership changes, and had name changes to South Park and Meteor. In 1969 she was taken out of service after running aground and she was moved to her present site in 1971. She is now the last of the whalebacks, but not the most famous; that is reserved for the steamship S.S. Christopher Columbus. The Christopher Columbus was the only passenger ship of the whaleback design; built in Superior in The S.S. Christopher Columbus 1892-1893 in the boatyard near the Meteor resting site. She saw 40 years of service on the Great Lakes from 1893 to 1933. Her dimensions were close to the Meteor at 362' length, 42' beam and 24' depth. Her initial assignment was to ferry visitors to and from the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. She was the largest Great Lakes vessel at that time. In a ferry configuration, she carried 5000 passengers on four decks. All appointments were high end luxuri- ous for a ferryboat shuttling passengers to a fair, even to the electric lighting. Power was from one 4 blade, 14' diameter propeller, driven by two steam engines, driven by six boilers. This could drive her at

4SAIL & SCALE — JUNE 2012 The Whaleback Ships (cont.) 20 MPH. Like the cargo whalebacks, her superstructure was built senger ships on the Great Lakes and pic- atop circular turrets (6 for this ship). In the launch picture you tures of her abound. She is reported as can see these turrets prior to installing the superstructure. carrying more people than any other ship When the exposition terminated, the ship entered into on the Great Lakes. scheduled transportation and excursion services. The first In the event you are at all turned on scheduled service was Chicago to Milwaukee and return. by this ship, it would make an interesting One infamous event tarnished the long history of the ship. and novel model. Here is the effort of one In 1917, while on an excursion to Milwaukee, and in the unknown modeler. Milwaukee harbor, and being turned by tugs; the bow swung The ship features good stability with over the shore and struck two legs of a 100 foot water tower. it's flattened whaleback style hull bot- This brought the tower down on the pilothouse demolishing tom and ample propulsion gear down the pilothouse and flooding the staterooms etc. with water. near the keel. - Bill Hamelink People were crushed by the debris, washed overboard, or jumped to safety in the water. The toll to the 500 passengers was sixteen deaths and 30 injured. The ship was repaired and put back in service. The S.S. Christopher Columbus continued to serve and was finally scrapped in 1936. She was one of the most popular pas-

The S.S. Christopher Columbus, all four photos

SAIL & SCALE — JUNE 2012 5 EMYC NEW MEMBERS THE AMERICAN QUEEN (CONT.)

Aerial View of the American Queen from the Gateway Arch Larry Klick

Bill Uhl

Special Thanks...To members that The Gentlemans’ Card Room complete with barber chair contributed to this issue: Dale Johnson, Bill Hamelink & Wayne Snyder. “THE DRAW” IN RAMSEY, MINN.

he City of Ramsey has invited our back to their pond to run CLUB SHIRTS HATS ETC. Tour boats this year on June 28, 2012, from 4:00-8:00pm. The Contact: Ramsey Park known as the Draw is located near the City Hall. Kevin Waldo (612) 789-7104 From Highway 10 heading West, go North on Ramsey Blvd. Cub Burgees and Stickers N.W. 1/4 mile to E. Ramsey Pkwy. and turn left, heading West. Contact: Continue on E. Ramsey Pkwy. to Rhinestone St. N.W. Let’s have a Mickey Kirihara (952) 881-2866 good representation of our boats at this show! -Todd Moen

6SAIL & SCALE — JUNE 2012 AMERICAN QUEEN ON TOURS AGAIN Compiled by Todd Moen

he American Queen is the largest river steamboat ever Tbuilt. The ship was built in 1995 and is a six-deck recreation of a classic Mississippi riverboat, built by McDermott Shipyard for the Delta Queen Steamboat Company. Although the American Queen's stern paddlewheel is indeed powered by a genuine steam plant, her secondary propulsion and much maneuverability comes from a set of diesel-electric propellers, known as Z-drives, on either side of the sternwheel. She has 222 state rooms for a capacity of 436 guests and a crew of 160. She is 418 feet long and 89 feet wide. The American Queen was retired to the reserve fleet in Violet, Louisiana, on 20 November 2008. Due to the failure of Majestic America Line (her owner) she was returned to the The Chart Room United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) who held her $30 million mortgage. With new owners in April 2012, the 436- passenger American Queen began a season of three- to 10- night voyages out of a variety of southern and Midwest home- ports, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Memphis. In 2012 the American Queen participated for the first time in the Great Steamboat Race. coming in second place. (continued on page 6)

The Grand Staircase

SAIL & SCALE — JUNE 2012 7 Centennial Lakes Hughes Pavilion 7499 France Avenue South Edina, Minnesota 55435 www.emyc.org

JUNE MEETING 2012 Board Members TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2012 7:00 P.M. Commodore: Wayne Snyder (952) 831-7434 CENTENNIAL LAKES GARAGE BAND ROOM Vice Commodore: Bill Lundholm (952) 832-9267 Vice Commodore: Bill Koester (714 ) 273-0549 Vice Commodore: Dick Dahlquist (651) 459-8377 AGENDA: Vice Commodore: Robert McDonald Topics will include: Secretary: To Be Determined -Parade of Boats Wrap Up Treasurer: Larry Wheeler (612)-926-5295 - “The Draw” at Ramsey, Minnesota - Picnic At Rick’s Pond The Edina Model Yacht Club Sail & Scale Newsletter -Show ‘N Tell: Bring your building projects is published monthly except for December.

Special Interest Contacts: Newsletter Editor: Todd Moen Scale Boating: (612)729-7690 To Be Determined (Anybody Interested?) [email protected] Sail Boating: Webmaster: Dale Johnson Tony Johnson (952) 470-8818 [email protected] [email protected] Fast Electric: Dan Proulx (763) 551-4953 [email protected] Please send articles by email to: [email protected] Deadline for articles to be considered for the July publication will be Saturday June 30,2012